Posted on 06/16/2010 10:36:58 AM PDT by earlJam
Last week, Edwin (14 years old) went to the Burlington Coat Factory store with his mother.
He saw a 3-year-old girl without a parent....
Edwin approached the girl and told her he would find her mother. Edwin's mother said she saw the two together, asked Edwin what was going on, and then said she would help.
Then Edwin made his big mistake. He thought the girl's mother might be among a group of women that he saw leaving the store.
The video shows him leaving the store, with the girl following behind. Once outside, he took her by the hand.
Edwin's mother then appeared, following after him and the girl.
It turned out the girl's lost mother was in the store...
The video shows the girl's mother rushing out the door.
By that time, Edwin had discovered the girl didn't belong to any of the women he had seen leaving the store. He said he was turning back to return to the store.
There was a convergence of Edwin, his mother, the little girl and her mother. The girl was returned to her mother.
The video then shows mother and daughter going back into the store, followed shortly thereafter by Edwin and his mother.
A store employee then called 911 at the behest of the girl's mother. After the employee tells the dispatcher about the abduction, the dispatcher asks where the perpetrator is.
"He's over in shoes,'' the employee said.
Edwin is quite the kidnapper. He brings his mom along. He hangs out in front of the store until the victim's mother shows up. And then he returns to the store and starts shopping for shoes....
Interestingly enough, the girl's mother never did press charges. But the Sheriff's Office decided it would, ultimately settling on a charge of false imprisonment.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
Someone trying to find you when you have lost your child is not “false imprisonment”.
“No good deed goes unpunished”
It’s all part of the conditioning process.
Did the store employee over react?
Did the mother (of the little girl) under react?
Did the mother (of the boy) err in not turning the little girl over to store employees?
Did the police over react when investigating and finding a mother unwilling to press charges?
Guess government trumps all. Maybe the local citizens will get to the right answer with the county sheriff (who I think I read was the arresting officers) and the local DA.
First, moron Nieves, you have to prove that the boy attempted to have custody. The article does not indicate anywhere that he attempted to do that. Second, have you ever heard of the the concept of the "good Samaritan" regarding people who are in distress?
This article provides the justification for the NEXT adult male who bypasses and ignores a lost and/or injured child. A basic human act of kindness has ruined a young man’s reputation, possible forever.
I openly admit to having continued PAST an injured, crying little girl, OUT OF MY OWN FEAR. Not of my physical safety, but the sure knowledge that an elderly, overweight, unshaven (that day), paint splattered (boat paint) male would be instantly found and declared GUILTY before the world.
An actual kidnapper/molester? I’d proudly donate the bullet. This incident scares the hell out of me.
We need to convince the mayor to award Edwin a certificate of heroism for saving the girl.
From what I have read and heard this boy acted exemplary, not to say our experience in these situations has always been good ... this one however was and should be reported as such.
I am hoping the DA declines to prosecute.
Something very similar happened to me in Best Products in Norfolk, VA. A little girl came up to me and told me she was lost. I took her by the hand and walked only a few feet to the counter and told the girl there, that the little girl was lost. They found her Mother fairly soon.
I will say that about half way to the counter, it struck me that I was making a mistake. I should have asked another shopper to watch her while I went to the counter. Fortunately nothing bad happened to me, but it sure could have.
“I openly admit to having continued PAST an injured, crying little girl, OUT OF MY OWN FEAR.”
A friend of mine did the same thing. Leave the kid there and alert store management.
If my 3 year old was not holding my hand or in my shopping cart in a big department store, I would be screaming my lungs out.
It’s sad to be obliged to realize that one might be perceived as an evildoer simply by ones looks or by being naturally caring.
I think the police went too far, they could have handled it at the scene. Detectives involved? Exactly how under worked are the police in Orlando? Or should I wonder how overstaffed?
“He was in custody of the child and had no authority to be so,’’ said Capt. Angelo Nieves.”
1) Really? If so, how did he get custody? Did the mother of the girl give it up, or did she neglect to protect her custody with due diligence? Surely, there is no allegation of forced abduction.
2) Since both are minors, how do we know that the little girl did not have custody of the 14-year old? Perhaps the police overlooked that the little girl also may have committed a heinous offence.
3) What are you supposed to do, you moron, if you find a toddler wandering around alone, if not take care of her temporarily until the parent is located?
“The thing is to make clear we have not charged him with an offense that did not occur.”
Again. Really? There’s a teleological argument if I ever saw one. He assumes the conclusion to help draw his conclusion. I conclude differently. If there was any false imprisonment there that day, it was of the 14-year old by the police.
Ditto. I had a similar experience with a lost little girl recently. I immediately grabbed a passing female shopper and asked her to stay with the girl while I alerted the store staff.
Too bad, but the assumption WILL be made that you’re a pervert, and in this type of case you’re guilty even after proven innocent, regardless of what the law says.
Of course, there are perverts out there, and so as males we just have to bite the bullet and deal.
Which brings up the interesting question of why this “gender profiling” is acceptable while equally well founded “racial profiling” is not. The percentage of potential muggers in certain racial groups is much higher than the percentage of adult males who would kidnap and rape a lost little girl.
Actual molester I’d not only donate the bullet, I’d volunteer for the firing squad. But I resent the assumption that I’m a murderous pervert.
Everyone must be charged with something to create a nation of criminals.
“A store employee then called 911 at the behest of the girl’s mother.”
If the girl’s mother never pressed charges why did she tell the store to call the police?
I’ve been questioned (bordering on accosted) by Walmart employees before when I was at the store with my two year old daughter, without my wife, and my daughter decided to have a fit in the garden section because I wouldn’t let her pick all the flowers.
Of course since she’s mad at Daddy she screams “Mommy Mommy Mommy” and no mommy anywhere around. My bet is nobody questions a woman who’s daughter is screaming “Daddy Daddy Daddy”.
If you watch the video, the boy took the girl outside of the store. At no time did he stop & talk to a store employee about the lost child. It is a miracle that the little girl was returned. IMO, this looked like a planned abduction.
You might want to watch the video. It wasn’t a good scene.
As I saw it, the girl was about 25-30’ from the mother and the boy talked to the girl for 10 to 15 seconds and then the girl went with him.
The guy made a beeline out the door with the kid following along. The boy occasionally coaxing the girl forward. He passed a number of employees and didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to hurry. (Which one would do if they thought the mother had left the store without her daughter.)
After a few minutes, he walked back in to people looking for the child.
If I had watched the video without hearing the story, I would be 100% positive he was trying to get the child away FROM her mother.
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